Apple vs Samsung: Judge Rules Out “Willful Infringement”

In a twist to the seemingly never-ending saga that is the Apple vs Samsung trial, Judge Lucy Koh has ruled that Samsung did not willfully infringe on Apple’s patents. Interestingly, the jury had ruled during the hearing that the Korean company did willfully infringe on five of seven design and utility patents that Apple holds, before Koh overruled the jury decision.

During the trial Samsung argued that the company believed Apple’s patents to be invalid, and therefore did not willfully infringe on the patents. This proved strong enough for Koh to overrule the jury’s decision, and also stated that Apple failed to show a “objectively high likelihood that its [Samsung’s] actions constituted infringement of a valid patent.”

Had Koh agreed with the jury’s decision, Samsung would have had to face a major headache: payment in damages would have gone up as much as three times the original $1.05b from the original hearing. However, that original penalty still stands – though both parties remain locked in appeals against the original judgment.